Facts

Kellogg Sales Company manufactures and sells MorningStar Farms "Veggie" products, including varieties of "Veggie Burgers," "Veggie Dogs," and "Veggie Chik'n." Angela Kennard is a resident of San Francisco, California, who bought various Veggie Products from local stores, including her local Trader Joe's. On September 17, 2021, Kennard brought a claim against Kellogg, alleging various violations of California's Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and Legal Remedies Act. In a survey commissioned for the case, 80% of Californians between the ages of 18 to 79 indicated that they were misled to believe that the products were primarily or entirely made of vegetables.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff alleged that defendant misleadingly and illegally labeled their MorningStar Farms "Veggie" products. In particular, plaintiff contended that reasonable consumers understood the term "veggie" as used by defendant to mean that the products are primarily made of vegetables, even though the products are predominantly filled with cheaper, non-vegetable ingredients like wheat gluten, oil, and corn syrup solids. As such, plaintiff contended the products were false and highly misleading and had the likelihood to confuse and confound consumer acting reasonably in their purchase. Moreover, plaintiff argued that she read and relied on defendant's false description of the Veggie products in making her purchase. Finally, plaintiff argued that defendant's conduct with respect to the manufacturing, labeling, sale, and advertising of the products was unfair because it caused plaintiff and other consumers substantial injury.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant contended that no reasonable consumer would be misled by the use of the term "Veggie" in the products because reasonable consumers understood that the term was referring to vegetarian/meat substitute foods and not a reference to it being primarily being made of vegetables as opposed to grains and oils. Further, defendant maintained that nothing on the products' packaging would convey the presence of any particular amount of vegetables and that any ambiguity surrounding the contents of the products would be dispelled by the labels and images on the packaging, which did not contain images of vegetables or represent that the products contained any plant-based ingredients.

Result

The court granted Kellogg's motion to dismiss with prejudice.